Lies, Damn Lies and the Herald-Tribune

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune passes on a study that tells a whopping lie. Does that mean the Herald-Tribune is also lying? Yes they are.

In their editorial, "The false path to war" the Herald-Tribune refers to a study by two "independent" and "non-partisan" journalist groups, the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism. They counted the number of times President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and others in the administration said weapons of mass destruction and Al Qaeda in the same sentence or speech leading up to the War in Iraq. They came up with 935 statements that they say are "false".

What a joke.

Did these two journalist groups count the number of times members of Congress said the same thing as President Bush? No. Did they count the number of times the media and pundits said the same thing? No.

Let me give you a few examples of the Clinton administration and members of Congress saying the exact same things from 1998 to 2002. Are they all making "false" statements? You be the judge.

"The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow." -- Bill Clinton in 1998

"Saddam's goal ... is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed." -- Madeline Albright, 1998

"(Saddam) will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and some day, some way, I am certain he will use that arsenal again, as he has 10 times since 1983" -- National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Feb 18, 1998

"As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." -- Nancy Pelosi, December 16, 1998

"Iraq is not the only nation in the world to possess weapons of mass destruction, but it is the only nation with a leader who has used them against his own people." -- Tom Daschle in 1998

"Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement." -- Barbara Boxer, November 8, 2002

"The debate over Iraq is not about politics. It is about national security. It should be clear that our national security requires Congress to send a clear message to Iraq and the world: America is united in its determination to eliminate forever the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction." -- John Edwards, Oct 10, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." -- Ted Kennedy, September 27, 2002

Here is a video of these politicians and of course, our favorite candidate for President Hillary Clinton saying she supports President Bush.



Maybe Congress should catalog and investigate its own misstatements.

Lies, damn lies and the lies that the Herald-Tribune and journalists tell for political gain. How disgusting!